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Kayla and Will work in the same department of a mid-size organization. Despite being each other’s closest colleague, the frustration between them is boiling over. When the team didn’t meet their quarterly targets, Kayla blamed Will’s “lazy approach to planning,” while Will blamed Kayla’s “caustic attitude toward clients.” They both complained to their director. “Tell her she has to be nicer to the clients if she wants them to call her back,” demanded Will. “Tell him he can’t wait until two days before the deadline to start his outreach,” Kayla asked of their boss. Their director, Amy, liked to fix problems and be helpful. In the past, she’d tried to appease Kayla and Will, soothing ruffled feathers. But no more. It was time, Amy knew, for her team to stop blaming others and instead manage their own conflict. Read about how Kayla and Will handled conflict -- and Amber A. Johnson, Ph.D.'s approach to getting past the drama at work: https://lnkd.in/eZrh5PbP

In a recent executive coaching session with one of my clients, we discussed on-boarding preparations for a new team member. My client presented a list of half a dozen concerns, lamenting all the negative things that might manifest with their new hire. “They might take too much time to get up to speed and will create a drag on my time… They might not become engaged and would leave after a short tenure…” I interrupted, “And what if the opposite of each of these concerns were to happen?’ There’s an interesting study (Rosenthal-Jacobson) that explores the Pygmalion effect, known more commonly as the self-fulfilling prophecy. In this study, teachers were told that some of their students (about 20%, chosen at random) were expected to be “intellectual boomers” and perform better than their classmates. Over time, researchers discovered that even though they were chosen at random, the children’s performance was enhanced when teachers expected higher performance from them. Conversely, students’ performance suffered when teachers expected lower performance from them. This phenomenon plays out all over the place in our day-to-day interactions and relationships. Perhaps you’ve had the experience of heading into a customer-service call frustrated and irritated, expecting the customer service representative to be unhelpful—and found that conversation to fall short as you expected. Or maybe there have been other times where you’ve tried entering into a similar conversation with a deep breath, a positive attitude, and polite and cordial disposition—and found you were met by an equally positive service agent. There are obviously multiple variables at play in these situations, but I’d wager that, all other variables consistent, the latter approach will almost always yield better outcomes. Read more about how to leverage positive visualization for high performance here: https://lnkd.in/gU8RSZaC

As the year draws to a close, many of us find ourselves reflecting on the gifts we give and receive. A recurring theme in conversations with clients is the profound impact of feedback—or its absence—on organizational culture. We invite you to consider feedback as one of the most valuable gifts we can offer as leaders. Like the perfect present, thoughtful feedback has the power to inspire, motivate, and transform. It's a gift that keeps on giving, fostering growth, strengthening relationships, and building a culture of continuous improvement. Let's unwrap the gift of feedback together and explore how it can revolutionize our approach to leadership and team development. In our latest blog by Michelle Sanford, PCPP, PCC,?she offers practical suggestions for crafting your feedback as a valuable tool for transforming your team and even your entire organization. The bottom line? The most successful leaders don't just give feedback well; they create environments where feedback flows naturally in all directions. By embracing feedback as a gift rather than a burden, we can transform our organizations and empower those around us to reach their full potential. Remember: The most impactful feedback often comes not from what we say, but from how we make people feel about their ability to grow and contribute. Read on here: https://lnkd.in/gfiZk6Nh

Most of us think of trust as a single factor: you either have it or you don’t. But that way of thinking is too simplistic. In reality, we trust the people in our lives in different ways and for different purposes. You trust your mechanic’s automotive competence, but you probably don’t share with him or her about your mother-in-law problems, for example. That’s because there are four different types of trust. Very simply: - Contractual:?Will you do what you say you’ll do? - Competence:?Are you capable of the work? - Relational:?Will you care for me as a person and keep my confidence? - Visionary:?Do we have a shared idea of the future that we’re both invested in? If you hear, “we need error free work,” it indicates a lack of competence trust. A request for easier working relationships might point toward a need for increased relational trust. “Timeliness” or “clear compliance” would suggest a gap in contractual trust. Rebuilding trust takes time—and can be especially difficult after critical incidents, like organizational restructuring or layoffs. But it is possible to grow trust, and that’s easier to do once you understand what type of trust most needs your attention. Read our full take on the four types of trust, written by Amber A. Johnson, Ph.D., and learn how you can grow trust at your own organization, here: https://lnkd.in/e9ddb_Hd

Instead of coming at a challenge from a place of fear or with a deficit/scarcity mindset, we can truly view it as an opportunity and have the confidence that will help create the future we really want to realize. Read our guide to leveraging positive visualization for high performance here: https://lnkd.in/gU8RSZaC

New research from SHRM revealed that two-thirds of the 1000 US workers surveyed have experienced incivility at work in the last month. This bad behavior has real consequences, impacting an employee’s sense of belonging and dramatically increasing their likelihood of leaving the organization. Here are three tips any leader can take to improve civility on your team: https://lnkd.in/gb8vQxrk

We're excited to welcome Lee Ana and Dan to the team this summer as Consultant Interns! Lee Ana is an accomplished program manager and community leader with extensive experience in nonprofit management, volunteer coordination, and business development. She is pursuing an MBA as a Forte Fellow at the University of Notre Dame and holds a Bachelor's in International Business and Hispanic Literature from Roberts Wesleyan College. Dan is an MBA candidate at the University of Notre Dame, concentrating on Finance. Pre-MBA, he was in the business process outsourcing industry for six years, specializing in learning design, technology, and analytics. Read more about them here: https://lnkd.in/g9hf8Uy6 https://lnkd.in/gkshYE8y

We often approach new working relationships with a feeling of uncertainty. But what if we flipped the script? Rather than a one-sided interviewing dynamic, working relationships could start with an open exchange of perspectives and personalities. Here's our guide to creating more open dialogues with new management here: https://lnkd.in/gsM6SZ_F